


it's not easy, baby

by xiu_harem



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Protectiveness, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-06-08 11:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15242184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiu_harem/pseuds/xiu_harem
Summary: in another universe, kim minseok is the long suffering maknae of exo.one shot collection.





	1. it's dangerous inside the blanket too (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> minseok attempts to pack up and leave to film for the pilot episode of "it's dangerous outside the blankets".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **chapter one** \- it's dangerous inside the blanket too (1/2)
> 
>  **character(s)** \- minseok, junmyeon, yixing, baekhyun, jongdae, chanyeol, kyungsoo, jongin, sehun  
>  **pairing(s)** \- none/gen  
>  **rating** \- g  
>  **warning(s)** \- bad writing, unbalanced exposition vs. dialogue, a little ooc, use of honorifics
> 
>  **notes** \- i don't know what i'm doing lmfao but i'm gonna do it anyway. this is self indulgent as hell.
> 
> also, this takes place in a world where the first pilot of it's dangerous outside the blankets (2017) didn't happen and the actual pilot episodes are the ones minseok appeared in during season two (2018). why? idk, just for funsies lmao.

Minseok could feel heavy eyes on the back of his neck as he laid out neat little piles of clothes, ready to be packed. He didn’t turn around though, already too fed up with the other person in the room to give them the time of day. He continued in silence for a few short moments before the miasma of worry and anxiety started to feel like a physical weight on his back.

“Hyung, you’re doing it again,” he said, not bothering to stop folding the corners of his shirt methodically.

He could hear, rather than see, Junmyeon snap out of his daze with a slight inhale. Minseok rolled his eyes to himself and opted to give his leader a moment to collect himself before leveling him with the same exasperated look he had given him countless times over the past few days.

“I’m sorry Minseokkie,” Junmyeon murmured, chin resting on his hand as he continued to watch Minseok with a concerned set to his forehead. “This is just very new, you know we don’t like making you go off on your own.”

Minseok groaned, shoving his face into a sweater. He had heard this same speech from every member of EXO at least once ever since the news of him joining a new variety show came out. They acted as if he was going away for a year rather than the three days that the show had somehow squeezed him into.

He wasn’t even going to do anything dangerous despite the title of the show; it was literally a paid vacation where his only real responsibility was to hang out with other people and maybe talk to them if he felt like it. It was impossible for him to get hurt or get caught up in anything more serious than tentative lunch plans.

“Are you sure we can’t send Chanyeol or something? He could do it, he owes me a favor so we could cash that in right now and send him as a surprise.” Jongdae suggested from his position sprawled out on Minseok’s bed, only half joking.

He threw a mischievous, saccharine smile at Minseok who resisted the urge to flip him off; he knew what he was doing, the devious asshole.

“That’s a great idea! You need to rest more Minseok, you guys just finished promotions and then you’re headed off to Japan right after - that’s too much work in too little time.”

Junmyeon perked up from his position on the floor, chin on the edge of his bed and looked ready to upturn his luggage, threatening to destroy all of his work in one fell swoop.

“Stop it! You all need to get out of my room,” Minseok huffed, dodging Jongdae’s attempt at an affectionate pat to his head. “I’m leaving tomorrow and you guys can’t stop me.”

“Aww, so cute. Mom, look, he’s rebelling.” Baekhyun cooed, voice muffled from somewhere underneath Jongdae’s left leg.

The mounting headache that had been progressively growing throughout the week made itself known with a sharp stab at his temple. Believe it or not, there were few luxuries as the youngest member in an idol group. He had to shoulder the burden of acting cute at every turn while also working ten times harder to shed the image of young and innocent just to be taken seriously. Minseok was tired of the barrage of attention that felt more like his hyungs were caring for a puppy rather than a human being. Minseok couldn’t help the fact that he was the youngest of his groupmates, but it didn’t mean he was incapable of being by himself for a couple of days.

To be honest, Junmyeon should be more worried about the other members - Baekhyun, in particular. Minseok had to quite literally rescue him from a kitchen fire the other night after he forgot about the toast he popped in the oven and left it to bake for about an hour. What was left was a steaming pile of charcoal, smoke damage to the walls and a sheepish Baekhyun who clearly didn’t realize that he barely missed his death.

And don’t get him started on Junmyeon himself, who nearly worked himself to death and went for days without a proper break. Minseok had found him asleep on the couch far too many times for it to be healthy and the times he did make it to bed, he was still wearing that day’s clothes. The times he did express his worry, Junmyeon just gushed and cooed at him like his concern was something precious and insisted that he was fine. They all loved to act like he was the helpless one who needed constant supervision when it was actually Minseok’s job from day one to make sure that EXO made it at least a month past debut.

“I’m gonna punch that dumb smile off of your face,” Minseok said, holding out a fistful of socks threateningly.

Baekhyun cowered in faux-fear, clutching Jongdae’s leg to his chest before the both of them dissolved into giggles, clearly unafraid of his anger.

“Oh my god,” Chanyeol simpered having come out of Minseok’s closet just in time to humiliate him some more. “Look at your tiny shirt!”

Jongdae and Baekhyun both cackled, losing all pretense of taking him seriously - not bothering to hide it to save Minseok a shred of dignity.

“It’s just so little,” Chanyeol practically sobbed, holding one of Minseok’s button down pajama shirts in between his fingers. “How are you even functioning? You’re just so small.”

“Guys, stop that. Don’t tease him.” Junmyeon scolded.

The admonishment was ruined by the look of mirth on his face though and he made grabby hands at the shirt in Chanyeol’s grasp. Chanyeol reluctantly released his prize before diving back into the closet, acting if he was helping Minseok instead of just adding more of a mess. 

“So small,” Junmyeon agreed happily, messily folding the shirt and putting it on top of the pile.

“Hyung, we’re the same height.” Minseok was tired of hearing that from members who were no taller than he was and took back the shirt to fold it more to his liking. “We’ve been the same height for years now.”

“He got you there, Junmyeon,” Yixing’s voice piped up from the laptop screen on Minseok’s bedside table. “And besides, Minseok-ah is old enough to go off on his own schedules. We can’t keep babying him forever.”

Finally, validation! It was like hearing a chorus of angels. Minseok ignored the sad ‘but he’s always going to be our baby....’ from Junmyeon and looked at Yixing with shiny, thankful eyes, practically limp with happiness that there was at least one reasonable person in his life.

“Thank you Xing-ge! That’s why you’re my favorite.”

Yixing stopped, pausing in his work. He turned to face the screen for the first time that video call and looked blankly at him, fingers tapping at his chin as he contemplated.

“On second thought, never mind. You’re very cute, someone might steal you away. Please send Chanyeol in his place.”

The chorus of angels came to a strangled halt and the betrayal was somehow even more painful because it came from the person he trusted could be the voice of reason.

”I take it back, all of you suck. None of you are getting Christmas presents from me this year.” 

Yixing looked shocked and regretful for all of three seconds before he grinned, oblivious to the continued suffering he was putting Minseok through.

”Christmas is still half a year away, I’ll get back into your good books before then!” 

God damn it, the worst part was that he was completely right.

”Aww, that’s so sweet. You’ve already started thinking about Christmas presents? I’m okay buddy, I don’t need anything!” Junmyeon said brightly, patting at Minseok’s knee. 

They were all being so infuriatingly dramatic and he knew that the more visibly upset he was, the more they would play it up and act out even more. He acutely knew that they had no problem with him going off by himself, they just wanted to mess with him and cause him unneeded stress. If his hair wasn’t grey already, they would’ve been the ones to cause it as well as his early death via stroke. His blood pressure was through the roof and this vacation was not just a schedule for work, but a needed departure from his dumbass bandmates.

“Are they bullying you again, Minseok?”

Kyungsoo, clearly his only ally, stood in the doorway, holding a bag of take out food in both hands. Jongin passed by with a curious look but marched onwards, ladened with several bags in his arms. Chanyeol poked his head out to chirp out a happy little ‘nah!’ before melting back into his closet, still enraptured by his clothes apparently.

“Yes,” Minseok replied grumbling and shoving both Jongdae and Baekhyun off of his bed with one push. “Please help me get them all out of my room, it’s a such a mess in here.”

Kyungsoo looked at the immaculate space around him with a raised brow, the only real mess he could see was the Jongdae, Baekhyun and Junmyeon pile groaning at the foot of his bed. But he shrugged, there was no reason to question the maknae’s peculiar habits and preferences, and nodded towards their kitchen.

“Jongin has the rest of the food out there if you guys want to eat now.”

“What are you guys having?” Yixing asked from his screen in the corner of the room.

“Too many things, unfortunately,” Kyungsoo said, picking up the laptop to move it to the kitchen; he was nearly bowled over by both Chanyeol (who regretfully departed from his adventure in Minseok’s clothes) and Jongdae (who recovered the fastest out the heap) in their haste to get to their dinner. “No one could agree so we got everything.”

Just as quickly as he came, he left with footsteps and voices fading down the hallway and Minseok felt like he could finally breathe. Truly, he owed Kyungsoo so much for always being the one person that had his back when everyone else was being ridiculous. He sighed to himself in relief, feeling lighter now that he was free of the crowd of people who decided that his room would be a great place to hang out. He almost had an aneurysm at the sight of Baekhyun and Jongdae laying their unshowered selves onto his bed. He fretted a little, he would definitely need to change the sheets tonight.

He closed his luggage with a snap and zipped it up, satisfied for now but still waiting on a couple things to pop out of the laundry. That could be done tomorrow though, after all he had to put up in the past couple of hours he deserved a break. He stretched, groaning as his back cracked in several places. He made to leave and go eat before huffing and turning to glare at the last person who refused to leave his room. 

“Sehun-hyung.”

“Yeah?”

Sehun looked up from his phone to give him a quizzical look; he was tucked into Minseok’s bed like he owned it, pajamas already on and a face mask slapped onto his face.

“Everyone else left.”

“Great.”

Minseok pinched the bridge of his nose; God, dealing with his members was like trying to wrangle cats.

“You’re not sleeping here tonight,” Minseok said forcefully. “You slept here all last week and I want my bed back.”

“But you’re leaving for a long time, I need to make up for all the times you won’t be there now.” Sehun replied, idly flicking through his phone.

“I’m not your teddy bear.”

Sehun looked at him with doubtful eyes, and went back to his phone.

“Seriously, hyung!” Minseok said, trying to get his attention back. “I mean it this time, I’m gonna get really mad if you don’t get out.”

“That’ll be adorable, please do.” Sehun snickered, clearly not taking his younger member seriously.

Minseok took one deep breath and held it for ten seconds, trying to find his inner peace. He exhaled slowly, trying to be the mature one.

“Anyway, can you change the sheets before we go to sleep tonight?” Sehun asked, getting even more comfortable in his bed. “Jongdae-hyung and Baekhyun-hyung were rubbing their feet all over the comforter; it was so gross.”

Minseok snapped.

If the rest of EXO heard horrified screaming coming from their maknae’s room, they were too busy stuffing their faces to hear it.


	2. it’s dangerous inside the blankets too (2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> minseok comes back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m tired of chapter notes so just know this is pointless and very very VERY self indulgent. it’s all OOC and BAD and DUMB. 
> 
> it’s USELESS but you know what? it’s what i want! and i need to write it and get it out of my system.

Vacation was fun. 

Minseok couldn’t say that about a lot of things he was paid to do so this was basically a shining endorsement. It was a little uncomfortable at first, of course. He was never the type to be super outgoing and meeting so many new people in a short amount of time drained him a little bit. In fact, it was the thing that had worried him the most and it had gone pretty well.

He could ignore the fact that there were a handful of awkward moments in which he and his housemates sort of sat around and stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak, because the rest of the time it was entertaining, rather than exhausting being around strangers. 

There was something freeing about being surrounded by people who understood the concept of personal space. When he wanted to take a nap and not see anyone for a couple of hours, he was allowed to do that and no one went out of his way to bother him.  

It was such a stark difference in how his homelife usually was that he found himself absurdly comfortable and ended up being the most social one there. It probably also helped that he wasn’t the youngest one in the house. The other Kim Minseok, the Olympic speed skater, became somewhat of a confidant. 

When the cameras were off, they were often together snacking on junk food while talking about how weird it was to grow up in the spotlight and under immense pressure while Little Minseok tried to teach him how to play the various games he occupied his time with when he wasn’t winning medals for Korea. Their situations were vastly different but all too similar at the same time, and they ended up spending a lot of time together even when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Their age gap was almost insignificant but when Little Minseok started on his gaming tirade Minseok could barely keep up. Nonetheless he was fascinated and paid close attention; maybe he could learn something new and Baekhyun-hyung would be proud that he was branching out.

Big Minseok, on the other hand, treated him more like he was used to being treated. He was watchful and attentive, looking at him more like a cute kid than a grown man but it was okay because it wasn’t as cloying and close as his members. In fact, he happily made Minseok a drink without much protest.

His members often felt some kind of misplaced guilt whenever they drank together. He had to admit it must have been pretty weird seeing the child that they grew up with acting like an adult, but they couldn’t hold on to that reason for much longer. He had been of legal drinking age for three years now and he was a much better drinker than most of his members - lightweights, all of them. 

Big Minseok had given him a hearty slap on the back when Minseok expressed his love for the drink he made and told him he had good taste. He was comfortable and cool and someone that Minseok hoped to be like in his interactions with the younger members in his company. 

(Barring the moth incident, which afterwards Big Minseok made him wash his hands, like, five times after killing the bug. And he thought  _ he  _ was a germaphobe.)

Even his short time with Loco and Mino both were amazing and they never treated him like a child or someone they needed to take care of. It was more than freeing, it was borderline cathartic. He forgotten what it was like to interact with humans whose first instinct wasn’t to immediately baby him.

Minseok immediately felt bad for those vindictive thoughts and tried to reason with himself that his hyungs had good reasons to act the way they all did. Like he said before, it must have been such a jarring change to see the child he once was to the person he was now. He would give them a little leeway for now, but once his 23rd birthday hit he was going to sit them all down and give them a piece of his mind.

The plane touched down and Minseok bounced in his seat slightly, already gathering his stuff and putting it back into his bag. His manager seated next to him jolted awake and groaned.

“Jesus Christ,” he said, rubbing at his face. “I’m getting too old for this.”

“Stop that hyung,” Minseok replied, rolling his eyes. “You’re only 43.”

“I don’t want to hear that coming from you, kid,” his manager said drolly. “You’re practically an infant.” 

“I’m almost 23!” Minseok protested, buckling his seatbelt with a pout. “When will everyone stop acting like I’m five instead of a grown ass man?”

“Hmm,” his manager murmured, clearly not paying attention anymore. “You know that thing when a sixteen year old that insists they’re an adult and they sound ridiculous? That’s what you sound like to me.”

“I hate you.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Take a quick nap, I’ll let you know when we’re good to leave. I know you didn’t sleep on the way back.”

Minseok grit his teeth but acquiesced because he really hadn’t taken any time to rest. The hour long flight was the perfect time to organize his photos, in his opinion, and he ended up laughing to himself and sent a series of dumb, borderline blackmail worthy pictures to the Kim Minseok (& Mino) group chat the crew made before leaving. He heard a quiet ping coming from his phone and a notification popped up onto his lock screen. 

‘DELETE THAT!’ 

He could hear the indginance in Little Minseok’s text. He cackled to himself as he typed out an admittedly childish reply and saved the photo Mino sent to the group. 

Little Minseok looked ridiculous as a wave slapped him on the face, he looked somewhere between half scared and half excited, the tiny fish barely hooked on his line making a leap back to safety. Minseok remembered the scene vividly and set the picture as their group chat background with another obnoxious cackle.

‘Betrayed……..by my own namesake……..that’s the last time I teach you anything.’

‘LOVE YOU!!’ Minseok replied with an obnoxious series of heart emojis.

‘You guys went fishing? Jealous.’ Big Minseok replied.

‘Yeah and now my clothes will never stop smelling of the sea…….I blame you guys.’ Mino quipped, sad faced emojis following his reply.

Minseok snorted to himself, pulling his legs up on the seat to rest his phone on his knees. 

“Kid, I said to nap,” his manager said gruffly, unamused as he stretched out his back. “You can talk to your little friends later.”

“But, I’m not tired-!” Minseok started, before stopping himself realizing he sounded like a toddler bargaining with his parent for more play time. “God, fine. But don’t blame me on your back pain when you have to carry me out of this plane because I don’t want to wake up.”

“Sure, yeah, now stop giggling at your phone and go to sleep already.” 

He bit back a sarcastic reply, the lessons on being polite to his elders at the forefront of his mind, and took it with grace when his manager shoved his beanie over his eyes, as if trying to make a makeshift eye mask. The last thing he remembered before passing out was his manager’s low rumbling voice asking the flight attendant for two bottles of water.

* * *

 

It was a mistake to listen to his manager. 

After waking up, he just felt bleary and more tired than he was before, he stumbled around drunkenly in the aisle trying to get his carry on out of the overhead compartment. 

He gave a full bodied yawn into his hands and managed to finally yank out his bag before the concerned mother of three waiting for him to exit could offer to help. He had his pride, after all. His manager stood a little ahead, clearly mocking him by offering zero help and only wrapped his arm around Minseok once he finally reached him. He thought about being a little shit and shrugging him off but he was past the age of teenage rebellion and also he was cold and still couldn’t walk straight. 

They trudged their way through crowded hallways of confused passengers who had no idea where they were going and reached the arrival gate where too many people sat waiting, cameras at the ready. It was quiet save the low murmurs of sleepy passengers disembarking and the frantic clicks of massive cameras. Minseok barely took this in, still sleepy and wobbly under his manager’s arm.

He closed his eyes for a second too long, feeling like there were bags weighing them down, and his head dipped against his manager’s shoulder. He dozed for a little bit as they waited for their bags to make their way to them.

Minseok was utterly oblivious to the smattering of quiet coos and murmurs that his sleepy face brought and honestly, it was probably for the best.

“C’mon kid,” his manager hummed. “You can sleep in the car.”

“First it’s the plane, now it’s the car,” Minseok whined, drowsy and hazy eyed. “How long do we have to wait for it to get here?”

“Don’t worry you big baby, it’s here already.” 

“Don’t call me that! This is your fault anyway.”

His manager rolled his eyes right in his face, only proving to Minseok that he truly had no heart or shame.

“No, it’s yours for not sleeping when you were supposed to. It’s 3am, kid. I wasn’t telling you to sleep on the plane for fun.”

Minseok grumbled his entire way over to the parking lot, using his rolling backpack as a makeshift stand. His eyes were still fighting a lost cause and he was jolted awake by his manager’s insistent leading hand on his back more than once. 

It was like sweet salvation to finally see the company car; he could already feel the crick forming in his neck from sleeping upright but it was miles ahead of sleeping in a giant metal tube with the ambient roaring that never got easier to listen to, and breathing in gross recycled air. He rubbed at his eye with a loose fist, still feeling petulant and groggy - his manager swiped an affectionate hand through his hair and took his bag to pop into the trunk. 

He slid the van door open maybe an inch before Jongdae’s head popped through the small space to greet him with an abnormally jovial for 3am smile.

“Minseok! Surprise!”

He tacked the ‘surprise’ at the end like an afterthought.

“My prodigal son returns,” Baekhyun’s voice sounded from somewhere behind Jongdae. “Welcome back, kid! How was it?”

“Oh no,” Chanyeol stuck his head out of the driver’s side window, mouth turned down at the corners looking for all the world like an upset puppy. “You look so tired, dude. Do you want to sleep on my lap?”

“Hmmargh,” replied Minseok, sleepy mouth not cooperating with his still shocked brain. “What?”

The back seat window rolled down with a hum, slowly revealing Sehun fully decked out in his sleepwear. 

“I would take him up on that offer Minseok,” Sehun said gravely from his place in the very back. “Chanyeol-hyung is very comfortable.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Chanyeol accused, dagger sharp eyes just asking Sehun to say the wrong thing.

“Oh my God, of course not,” Sehun said, rolling his eyes. “I was hyping you up and making you marketable instead of creepy - talk about self sabotage.”

Minseok still stood swaying outside of the van, half convinced that his annoying bandmates were just figments of an ongoing nightmare. 

“Will you two stop that? And move out of the way and let him in Dae!”

Baekhyun bounced in his seat and if Minseok wasn’t already about to pass out he would have been tired just looking at him. He managed to gain a bit of lucidity as he clambered into the van falling into his seat next to a gently smiling Kyungsoo.

“Hey Minseok,” Kyungsoo’s voice washed over him like a wave and Minseok was immediately overcome by the notion that he was home. “Sorry, it was just going to be me and Chanyeol but they insisted on coming.”

Chanyeol nodded, self satisfied from his seat in the front. Baekhyun, Jongdae and Sehun looked vaguely affronted but ignored Kyungsoo to try and pepper Minseok with questions about his trip.

“Did you meet anyone new? Were they nice? Did you have fun?”

Usually Minseok would have answered their questions with sarcastic quips and more than a few “no, moms” or “of course, dads” but he genuinely felt too achy and too tired to be catty. Kyungsoo, clearly god’s gift to the world, must have seen just how weary he was and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. Minseok melted into his hyung’s hold, eyes closed and cuddled into his side with a quiet hum.

“Later, sleep now.” Minseok warbled, tucking his legs under Kyungsoo’s to get as much warmth as possible.” 

“Oh my god,” Sehun whispered, cognizant of the havoc Kyungsoo would reap if he woke up a lightly dozing Minseok. “This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve held an actual basket of puppies before.”

“No pictures.” Kyungsoo snapped, already aware of everyone’s intentions. 

Jongdae lowered his phone with a pout and Baekhyun ignored him in favor of snapping the scene from multiple angles. 

“You selfish bastard,” Baekhyun muttered under his breath, completely focused on his task. “You want to keep this all to yourself? Jongin will literally cry on you if he finds out this happened and I didn’t record it for posterity.”

Kyungsoo furrowed his brow, glaring for a bit before rolling his eyes. Sehun and Jongdae joined Baekhyun in his abrupt photoshoot and shoved their phones in his face, trying to sway him with their artistry. 

“Look at his widdle hands,” Jongdae cooed. “He’s so tiny.”

“Fine, but keep it in the group chat,” he peered at Sehun’s brandished photo with a discerning eye. “Send me that one. I want to get it framed.”

“You’re so lucky he’s passed out,” was the first thing their manager said when he finally climbed into the passenger’s side. “He almost bit my head off when I told him to sleep earlier.”

“Oh my poor baby,” Jongdae replies sadly, tucking Minseok’s coat a little more firmly around him. “He must’ve been so excited to come home.”

Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Sehun all made a noise that could only be described as a muffled screech of adoration. Their manager looked at them incredulously and decided to be nice for once and not pop their bubble. Because it certainly wasn’t home that Minseok was excited about that he couldn’t sleep. It was… sweet would be strong of a word to describe them but fanatical was always way too intense despite it being very close to describing the band’s behavior with their youngest. 

“Sure, yeah. That’s it,” their manager said blandly, settling into his seat. “Let’s go with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you like what i do and you are able to support me, please consider buying me a cup of coffee!  
> ko-fi.com/eemmyy
> 
> i was ranting on twitter abt how if minseok was the maknae of exo he would have too much power. three glasses of wine later, a late night writing spree and here we are. 
> 
> i'm a little rusty after spending two semesters just writing screenplays and poetry so forgive me as i try and get back into the swing of things.
> 
> most of these one shots will take place in the, uh? canon universe? our world? idk what to call it, but for some that i have sort of mapped out, there will be slight tweaks and changes. i'll always let the reader know relevant au info, triggers and warnings at the beginning of each chapter.
> 
> as a general rule, everyone's ages and birth dates are the same except for minseok who was born two years after sehun. so basically, the order is as follows:
> 
> \- junmyeon & yixing (1991)  
> \- baekhyun & jongdae & chanyeol (1992)  
> \- kyungsoo (1993)  
> \- jongin & sehun (1994)  
> \- minseok (1996)
> 
> thanks for reading!
> 
> \- emmy


End file.
